Chapter 1 The Alpha's Eyes

Chapter One: The Alpha's Eyes

Everyone warned me, including Alpha Robert who never touched the same Omega twice.

To him, Omegas were distractions, temporary indulgences to soothe the burn of his heat or feed the hunger in his beast. He was angry. Never cared. Never came back.

And yet... from the moment my scent matured on my eighteenth birthday, everything changed.

The coming-of-age ceremony was a tradition in which our pack bonfires roared under a silver full moon, the air saturated with the shifting pheromones of maturing youth. Omegas in white silk, Alphas in ceremonial leathers, all standing at the edge of the forest clearing, waiting for nature to decide our fates.

My heart pounded beneath my ribs as I stepped into the fire-lit ring. Dozens of eyes were on me, but I felt only one.

His, Alpha Robert's

Robert stood at the far end of the clearing, tall and cold, flanked by two of his Beta guards. Alpha Robert Blackridge the youngest Alpha to ever lead the pack, chosen by blood and blessed by the Moon herself. His reputation was as sharp as his jawline, his power as lethal as the silent command in his stride.

I'd seen him before, of course. Everyone had. He was impossible to miss, impossible to ignore. But never like this. Never with his eyes locked onto mine as though I were prey, and he, the predator who had finally found something worth chasing.

I froze.

His nostrils flared slightly. His eyes darkened.

Then he moved.

It took him seconds to cross the clearing, but in my mind, the world slowed. Every step he took made my blood hum louder. By the time he stood before me, I could hardly breathe. The scent of leather and pine clung to him. Dominance rolled off his body in waves. He didn't speak. He didn't have to.

His hand rose. Fingers brushed my jaw just a whisper of contact but it ignited a fire beneath my skin and Robert said to me.

"I'll expect you tonight," he murmured, voice low, almost guttural.

Then he turned and vanished into the woods.

The rest of the ceremony passed.

Elders chanted blessings. Omegas cried or laughed or trembled. But clara couldn't stop shaking from that one touch.

That night, clara was summoned to his chambers.

I remember him. The carved obsidian doors. The wolves etched into the dark stone. The way my legs nearly gave out as I stood before them, heart thundering.

A guard opened the door. I stepped inside.

Robert stood near the fireplace, shirt half-unbuttoned, collar loose. His eyes found me instantly, those same darkened eyes from earlier, but now tinged with something rawer.

Possessiveness.

"Come here."

"He said "

The command in his voice sent a shiver through me. I obeyed.

I step closer, with fear.

Robert grabbed me by my waist,making me uncomfortable, the whispers of his voice sent a chill pill in my spine.

What happened that night was more than heat, more than biology it was primal. Wild. He claimed me with every touch, marked me with every kiss. My body responded like it had waited a lifetime for him.

When dawn broke, I thought it was over.

But it wasn't.

One night became two. Then three. Then I lost count.

He never said I was his mate. Never promised forever. But his actions whispered things I was too desperate to ignore. He pulled me into his bed night after night, his touch growing softer, his stare lingering longer. I lathe turning lips curved when he turned his brow when sleep eluded him.

I learned how he whispered my name-not like a command, but like a secret.

The pack whispered, too.

The other Omegas sneered when I passed. Luna candidates daughters of nobles and high-ranking Betas Michael Appearing in Robert orbit, each one more polished than the lastMichaeloffered gifts. Dinners. Perfumwas ed letters.

He ignored them all.

For a while, I felt invincible.

I was his obsession.

And I was like a fool to think I was special.

But then came the announcement.

I stood outside the grand pack hall, heart pounding, dress clinging to my skin in the spring rain. I wasn't invited. No one said why. But I had to know.

splashed music played. Laughter echoed. The hall doors were open just wide enough for me to see.

Robert stood in the hall with his full Luna Isabella. Black and silver. His hand rested on the small of a woman's back Luna Isabella. Daughter of the Crescent Moon Pack's Alpha. Her gown sparkled like stars. she smiled.

"We are honored," Robert said, voice strong and clear, "to announce our union and the binding of two great packs."

I couldn't breathe.

My vision tunneled. My hand clutched my belly as a wave of nausea hit not from the pain in my chest, but from something far more terrifying.

I was late. Weeks late.

The realization slammed into me with cruel finality.

I turned and stumbled away, barely making it to the edge of the forest before I vomited behind a tree. Cold rain soaked through my cloak, but I couldn't move. I sat there, clutching my stomach, unable to cry. The pain was too deep. Too raw.

He'd left me.

Not just discarded me, but replaced me, lied to me, used me.

And now... I am carrying his child.

He could never know.

I knew what happened to Omegas who bore Alphas' children without permission, especially ones not of noble blood. The council would tear me apart before they let a bastard heir challenge Luna's future pup.

That night, clara returned to her quarters.

Broken and shattered.

Clara packed a small bag with just the essentials. One dress. A pouch of herbs. A vial of suppressants I hadn't used. A silver dagger my grandmother left me.

I didn't leave a note.

But I did leave something behind.

The pack crest embroidered into the cloak Robert once gave me. I shredded it and laid the torn threads on the threshold of his chambers.

My only goodbye.

Then I ran.

Into the night.

My pulse echoed in my ears, louder than the howling wind. Every branch that snapped beneath my feet felt like a warning. Every gust of wind carried his scent, his memory, the ghost of his hands on my skin.

But I didn't stop.

I didn't look back.

Because if I did...

I knew I'd break.

And I couldn't afford to break.

Not with this life inside me.

Not with his child in my womb.